Dogs veteran St-Denis is keeping an eye on the kids

Mentor

When you think of someone who's old, white hair surely comes to mind. Maybe some wrinkles, too, along with a slower pace and dinner at 3 p.m. You definitely don't think of Frédéric St-Denis.

Yet, with the AHL season just days away from opening, the 26-year-old has become the greybeard and wise man on the top of the mountain of the Hamilton Bulldogs' kiddie defence corps.

“It's kind of different,” he says from the team's training camp in Sherbrooke, Que. “I remember when I was 21 or 22, I was watching guys like (Alex) Henry. I'm pretty shocked to be one of the older guys.”

The oldest guy. On the blueline, anyway.

When the team let Henry bolt for Germany after last season, it left its crop of blue-chip defensive prospects in the hands of new coach Sylvain Lefebvre and the rest of his coaching staff. And St-Denis.

See, coaches can teach a lot but learning how to be a pro is something you learn from your teammates. Everybody says that. It's the veterans who've walked the trail before that you watch to see how to eat, how to rest, how to work out, how to play your position and generally how to be a man.

This role is particularly important this year because of what the Habs have in the fold. Jarred Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu and Morgan Ellis are all first-year pros who played in the Memorial Cup tournament last season. Greg Pateryn has joined the organization after a career at the University of Michigan. All four are considered future big leaguers.

Montreal is going to want all these guys to get plenty of ice time for their development. Which starts to squeeze the opportunities for returning guys such as Joe Stejskal and Brendon Nash and anyone who might make the team from a tryout.

St-Denis is the exception. As a veteran who got some NHL experience last year and has shown himself to be a leader and a valuable player, he should be part of the mix all year.

Which makes him the obvious guy to take the mentor's role.

Plus, as Tinordi's roommate, he's clearly been identified as a guy who can make a difference in the kids' development.

Tinordi — the son of former NHLer Mark — is a giant. At 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, he's among the biggest men ever to play the game. Even at 20, he's attracting plenty of attention and loads of compliments.

Hamilton native Kyle Hagel, who signed with the Dogs in the off season, raves about Tinordi's ability and poise and says he's going to have a long National Hockey League career. St-Denis is effusive in his praise for the kid's defensive abilities.

But players commonly point out that the step from junior to the AHL is the biggest leap guys will make in their careers, no matter where it takes you. Even for highly touted, talented kids.

“Without a doubt, it's really tough,” he says. “In junior, you play with some guys who are 16 and 17. Here the guys are bigger, stronger and faster.”

Which means St-Denis has plenty on his plate to ease their transition. All of them. More so because, with the AHL is loaded with NHLers needing somewhere to play during the lockout, learning on the fly is going to be particularly difficult this season. Mistakes are going to happen. The newcomers are going to screw up. When they do, they're going to need someone to lean on.

“I can do that job and I will, all season long,” St-Denis says. “I'm ready for that.”

Besides, he says this isn't a one-way street. He expects to make the playoffs this year. On top of that, he's clear he still hasn't given up on his NHL dream and a number of call-ups to the Canadiens last season showed he can contribute at that level. He plans to use this year to prove that even more.

So, while he'll be helping the kids, he'll have his eyes wide open.

“I can learn from them, too,” he says. “They won the (Memorial) Cup last year.”